Film Review: J Edgar (15) (From The Northern Echo)
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Film Review: J Edgar (15)
5:03pm Thursday 19th January 2012 in Film
Leonardo DiCaprio stars as J Edgar Hoover
Rating: 2/5
BIOPIC time again and a more conventional approach from director Clint Eastwood than The Iron Lady and W.E.
Click here to check showtimes for J Edgar (15)
But as with those two, a central performance is so much better than the movie. Here Leonardo DiCaprio gets to show his acting chops underneath increasing layers of prosthetics as J Edgar Hoover, who rose through the ranks of the US justice department to run the FBI for more than four decades, until his death in 1972.
Somehow, Eastwood manages to make it murky and boring.
The 137 minutes spent in J Edgar’s company seems much longer as Dustin Lance Black’s screenplay shows signs of wanting to investigate the darker corners of Hoover’s life, but never takes the plunge.
What are we to make of his relationship with his mother (Judi Dench) and his faithful longserving secretary (Naomi Watts)? Perhaps more importantly was his long-time companion and fellow FBI director Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer) more than just a good friend?
The film’s only hint involves the rumours of Hoover’s penchant for cross-dressing.
